Laptop bomb may have caused Somalia airplane explosion, sources say

The Somalia national army on Thursday killed eight Al-Shabaab militants and recovered lethal weapons during an operation in central Somalia.

Aviation safety expert Xavier Tytelman said Wednesday he had compared images of the blast with photographs of previous explosions, and it had all the appearances of a bomb.

“Foreign experts are coming on Friday regarding the blast on the plane”.

“We absolutely need a new currency”, said Ali, who this time became central bank governor in 2013, adding that the existing notes “are old, they’re torn, they’re dirty and they’re fake”.

An initial analysis of the residue from the blast on a commercial airliner that ripped a hole in its fuselage shortly after take-off from Somalia’s capital on Tuesday has shown that the explosion was caused by military grade TNT, CNN reported.

The source added that investigators believe the attack was orchestrated by the al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab, although they are not certain that Borleh was a direct member of the group. The Daallo Airlines jet was flying from Mogadishu, Somalia to Djibouti, Horn of Africa.

A body believed to be the passenger who detonated the explosive device was found 20 miles from the airport.

The Airbus A321 was carrying 74 passengers when the explosion struck.

He suggested the Turkish Airlines’ decision to scrap two flights may have been linked to intelligence it received about a possible security threat.

The blast happened minutes after takeoff from Mogadishu as the jet was climbing between 12,000 and 14,000 feet. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Many disabled passengers are seen in flights in and around war zones, and are often waved through checks.

“They’re saying it’s suspicious but not conclusive … it’s not 100% sure”, Yassin said.

Daallo typically operates around 15 flights a week to Mogadishu from Somali and nearby worldwide destinations.